NBAA SHOW REPORT
LIGHT JETS
Eclipse to establish service centres
Manufacturer says existing general aviation maintenance providers 'could not offer level reguired' for very light jet
As it prepares to resume flight test
ing of the Eclipse 500 very light jet,
Eclipse Aviation has announced it
will establish seven factory-owned
service centres in the USA, the first
two at its Albuquerque, New
Mexico headquarters and in
Gainesville, Florida. "They will all
be in place by 2008," says chief
executive Vern Raburn.
Eclipse will build the centres
because existing general aviation
maintenance providers "could not
offer the level of service we require,"
says Raburn. The manufacturer will
also authorise corporate and fleet
operators to perform warranty work,
and dedicate an Eclipse 500 to
resolving aircraft-on-ground prob
lems by flying in a repair team.
After selling 65 aircraft in the first
half of the year, taking the backlog
to 2,126, the start-up company has
accelerated its planned production
ramp-up to 260 units in the first 12
months and 880 in the second, to
bring forward availability of deliver
ies from November to February
2008. Certification is scheduled for
early 2006. Raburn sees sustained
demand for 650-700 aircraft a year
without the controversial air-taxi
market, which makes up almost
two-thirds of Eclipse's backlog.
Adam Aircraft has announced a
"handshake agreement with an
established fractional-ownership
provider" for 100 A700 very light
jets, adding to its 75-aircraft order
from air-taxi start-up Pogo. But cer
tification has slipped to "about a
year from now", says president Joe
Walker, after the US Federal
Aviation Administration did not
agree to an extension of the type
certificate for the A500 piston twin,
for which Adam hopes to receive
approval by year-end.
Adam had hoped to begin A700
deliveries to Pogo in March. "We are
working with the FAA to nail down
details and find out exactly what
they want us to test," says Walker.
Chief executive Rick Adam says the
certification date could change
again if there are unexpected FAA
requirements. A conforming proto
type of the A 700 is now expected to
fly in about five months.
Aviation Technology Group
(ATG), meanwhile, is expected to
announce Albuquerque, New
Mexico as the site for final assembly
of its proposed Javelin two-seat light
jet, with initial low-rate production
set to get under way between
December 2006 and mid-2007.
Although yet to formally con
firm the move, the company says
orders have reached "just under
100". Taxi tests of the non-con
forming prototype are expected to
start "within weeks", says president
George Bye. Initial tests will take
place at the Olympia, Washington
site of subcontractor Soloy.
ATG confirms the choice of
engine for the final production ver
sion is still open, despite use of
Williams FJ33-4s in the prototype.
• Israel Aircraft Industries has
become an equity investor in ATG
as part of the companies' recently
announced strategic alliance.
COCKPITS
Thales aims for market break with TopDeck
Thales has unveiled its TopDeck
integrated flightdeck for business
and regional aircraft, but has yet to
secure a launch customer. The
avionics suite is based on a modu
lar architecture with high-speed
internet bus, and four large liquid-
crystal displays with trackball and
keyboard interface.
Thales, trying to break into a
market dominated by Honeywell
and Rockwell Collins, says it is talk
ing to several aircraft manufactur
ers. Targets include Bombardier's
proposed CSeries airliner, it says,
but sources suggest only Collins
and Honeywell have made it to the
joint definition phase under way.
TopDeck uses standard modules
for autopilot, flight-management
system, alerting system and cen
tralised maintenance, with the
ADFX databus as the backbone.
Thales is also offering an LCD-
based digital head-up display.
Honeywell has begun flight test
ing its Apex/R integrated flightdeck
in a Cessna Citation II, with certifi
cation planned for 2006.
L-3 Communications Avionics
Systems, meanwhile, expects certi
fication of its SmartDeck integrated
cockpit in 2005 on two aircraft
under flight test by an unidentified
general aviation manufacturer, says
president Adrienne Stevens. L-3 has
introduced a Class B terrain aware
ness and warning system using a
GPS wide-area augmentation sys
tem sensor to simplify installation.
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FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 19-25 OCTOBER 2004 23